Hat forming device



F. PERTOT lll. aux:

IVENTOR /O @n4/r 4 ATTORNEY A March 20, 1934.

HAT FORMING DEVICE Filed Oct. 31, 1951 Patented Mar. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT orifice Claims.

This invention relates toy a hat forming device and has particular reference to improvements in the saddle with which the hat is pressed in the hat press in order to shape the hat to the proper form. Hat presses as usually constructed include a metal die mounted on a cross-head and movable to and away from a second die, which frequently comprises a rubber bag adapted to be Y expanded within a hat saddle to press into shape w a hat lying between the hat saddle and the movable die, which carries the hat and saddle. This hat saddle is usually formed of fabric and rubber and is shaped to conform to the desired shape L or style of the hat. This saddle is usually supported in inverted position in the movable die and the hat to be shaped or pressed is placed over the saddle so that when the saddle is inverted into the movable die and the two dies are moved together, the hat is pressed closely against the 2@ inner surface of the die by the saddle which in turn is acted upon by the expanding rubber die.

When the dies of the hat press are brought together, air isv trapped within the saddle and this trapped air acts as a cushion or lock to preventl the bringing together and proper cooperation of the dies. lf this air cushion is not broken when the dies are forcedtog'ethen injury to the hat, the hat saddle' and to the dies by the air cushion u resistance to the press movement is likely. In fact, there have been cases where the expensive aluminum die in which the hat saddle seatedhas been cracked or otherwise distorted beyond' repair because the closing of the press was restricted by this' air' cushion. Y In order to prevent the damaging effects of'l this air cushion, it has been the practice of hat press operators to insert between the hat saddle and the rubber bag die, a relatively thick mem- W vbe'rsu'chas a pad of felt or the like, which, when the dies are brought together, provides two air outlets, one at either edge thereof, for the relief of the trapped air. After' the hat has been pressedv it is necessary to remove the fel-t pad when the saddle is removed and the pressed hat stripped 46 therefrom before the saddle with the next hat thereon isY replaced inthe die and this replacingY and removing of the felt pad required two additional operations and frequently more, because *Y A the felt pad would become disarranged frequently or would flattenv out and break down at its' edges. It would then no longer provide theA desired air outlets and would yhave' toY be replaced withv another' felt pad of the lil'e. addition to` these objections, the felt pad wold frequently slide down within the crown of the saddle and the press operator, relying on the presence of the felt pad to break the air cushion, would force the dies together so thatrt'he air seal would injure the mechanism or the hat x die vor hat in the manner described. s 60 Not only is the use of this loose felt pad ob*`4 jectionable from an operating standpoint, but itV` is also a dangerous practice, because the hand of the operator is liable to be injured by being caught V between the dies when he attempts tof insert `orV rearrange the pad while closing the press. juries to hat press operators because of this prac-fA tice have occurred heretofore.

It is the principal object of this invention Y to providev an improved hat saddle provided means whereby the objectionableair' cuslf'iior,` which forms in the hat saddle when the rubber bag die is inserted therein during operation of the press, is automatically relieved in' proportion to its pressure, whereby several operations of the former hat pressing process are eliminated and the danger of injury to the press operator and to the mechanism, the hat saddle, or the hat, caused by the aforementionedair cushion and the operators efforts to relievey it, are ob# viat'ed. j

This object is obtained in ay preferred embodiment of the invention comprising a hat saddle properly shaped from fabric, rubber and the like;` on the inner surface of which is secured aA strip" Si" of yielding material providing a plurality'of an"y relief passages, throughxwhich thev trapped air is dissipated when the two dies are brought toi' gether and the harmful air Vcushion is'accordingly obviated. 'Ihis strip may take' any forn, but preferably' comprises a strip of soft, vulcan# ized rubber" having passagesy'therethroughl or grooves upon its surface' and permanently secured to the inside' surface of the hat saddle byA means of a strip of unvnlcanize'dv rubber placed 95' between it and ther inner surface of the hat sad-f dle and thereafter vulcanized.

For a better understanding of the inventionA reference is madeY to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a crosssection through the new: hat saddle as is mounted in-a hat press;

Fig. 2is a partial interior view thereof as seen" along the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3' is an enlarged crossv section throughY m5 air relief means as' seen along the; line' Slag of' Fig. 2';

Fig'. 4 is a face' view of the air relief means' strip, and

Figs. 5

and fsl iuustrate modifie@ farms of me H0 air relief means strip, Fig. 5 being a face view of one form and Fig. 6 a cross section of another form.

In the drawing, numeral 10 designates the hat saddle which is formed of fabric, rubber and the like, having a re-enforcing layer 16 of fabric or the like adjacent its brim and shaped to conform to the style of felt hat which is to be shaped in the press. This hat saddle 10 is adapted to be mounted in a die 11, which is made of metal such as aluminum and is also shaped to conform to the style of hat which is to be shaped in the press. away from the stationary die 12, which, in conformance with the usual practice, is formed of rubber and is distended by fluid pressure to expand within the crown of the hat saddle 10 to force it against the metal die 11. 12 and the mechanism for operating them form no part of the present invention and arev merely described in order to more clearly illustrate the present invention.

The felt hat 13 to be pressed into shape is placed on the saddle 10 and the saddle with the ,hat thereon is inverted in the die 11. Thenv the dies 11 Vand 12 are brought together and the upperrubber bag die 12 is expanded within the saddle" 10. so that the hat 13 is pressed between the die 11 andthe saddle 10 and conforms Lfto the shape thereof. When the dies are brought together, the shoulder 12 of the upper rubber d ie 12 lengagestl'ietop edge of the hat saddle 10 and Yseals the air therein, forming the air cushion C. The expanding rubber die 12V also jtraps airfin the crown of the hat saddle 10, forming the second air cushion C. The saddle 10 is practically airtight, so that'the air cushions C and C' would not ordinarily be relieved but in the arrangement of the hat saddle of the present invention this trapped air is automatically released by an air relief strip 14 vsecured to the inner surface of hat saddle 10 and preferably formed of soft, flexible vulcanized rubber and having a plurality of longitudinal, parallel ribs or ridges 15 forming the grooves 16 between them on the surface of the strip 14. The air relief strip 141s preferably secured to the saddle surface 18, of fabric such asY Vduck or the like, 'by

means of a strip of unvulcanized rubber 19 placed between'the strip 14 and the fabric surface 18 of the hat saddle 10 and then vulcanized, so that the strip 14 is 'permanently secured thereby to the fabric surface 18 of the hat saddle 10.

This strip ,14 extends from a point within the crown of the hat saddle 10 to the edge or brim thereof, as shown especially in Figs. 1 and 2, and

the grooves 16 thereof form with the die 12 placed inthe saddle 10v a plurality of continuousY passages which lead from the crown of the hat saddle 10 beyond the brim thereof for the relief of the air trapped at C and C within the saddle 10 byA the upper die l2. The air from C ows through the grooves 16 of the strip 14 into the cushion C and from there through the grooves 16 of strip 14 past the shoulder 12 of upper die 12 to theopen air. Y

The die 12, when pressed against the air relief strip 14 alsoforms the air passages 17 on either side of the strip 14 in a manner shown in Fig. 3,

butv these passages cannot be relied on altogether to release the trapped air, because the edges of the strip 14 are liable to become broken down or flattened after along period of use and the soft rubber of the die 12 frequently iills in the passages 17 to such an extent `that only a small vamount of The die 11 is movable toward and Dies 11 andv air can flow through them, so that the air Gush-- ions C and C are not relieved suiciently quickly to prevent injury to the hat saddle 10, die 11 or other parts of the mechanism. Thus, a plurality of separate or connected passages 16 which provide a plurality of continuous air relief passages from the crown of the hat saddle l0, and which are so constructed as to prevent clogging or closing by the rubber die 12, `are necessary to secure an effective hat pressing operation without the liability of injury to any of the elements entering intoy the operation because of the trapped air. Also, this air relief means, being a permanent part of the hat saddle, makes it unnecessary for the press operator to reach between the dies when the press is closing, as he frequently did when he employed a loose felt pad to release the trapped air, and so the danger of injury to the operator for this reason is also eliminated with the present invention.

While I have illustrated and describedafridged or ribbed air relief strip 14, which forms with the die 12 the plurality of passages 16 for relieving the air cushions C and C', there are manyother forms of equivalent air relief strips which may be proV vided within the scope of this invention. For. example, the strip may be made of rubber or other suitable material having. formed on its surface the pyramidal projections 20as shown at 14 in Fig. 5, these projections 20 forming continuous lateral and longitudinal connected passagesv 21V between them, whereby the air cushionsV C and C may be` relieved continuously from the side and from the bottom as the upper Ydie 12 expands within vthe hat saddle l0. These projections 26 on or of the air relief strip 14 may also be circular, dome-like, or of other shape so long as they provide the con-V tinuous uninterrupted and unclogged air passages f for the relief of the air cushion formed in the' hat saddle 10 during the pressing operation.

o In Fig. 6 the air relief strip 14 is provided with a` plurality of interior air relief passages 22 which extend therethrough and are independent of the, die12 and serve to relieve the air pressure in the manner described. These passages 22 are'shown as being longitudinal, but they may also be transverse and longitudinal, diagonal, or the like, so long as they perform the requisite function. l

The operation of the new hat saddle 10 follows the usual procedure.4 'Ihe air relief means 144- 15-16 automatically relieves the air cushions'C` and C in proportion to the air pressure, since the relief passages 16, 21 or 22 are so arranged. in sufficient number to pass all of the trapped air rapidly` and at a velocity commensurate with the pressure to which the air is compressed. No additional operations other than the mere successive acts of placing the hat 13 on the saddle 10, inverting the saddle in the die 11, bringing the dies 11 and 12'together, actuating the iluid supplymeans for distending the die 12, if this is notdone, automatically by the machine, separating Ythe dies and stripping the pressed hat 13 from the saddlel 10. Thus, the make-shift, unreliable and timeconsuming operations of placing loosely in thehat saddle some pad or thelike to provide air passages and then removing this pad, are eliminated, and the pressing operation can be speeded in consequence. Furthermore, the danger of injury "to the operator and the liability of displacingthis pad and resultant injuryr tothe operating parts are obviated. As the air cushion is broken prac-l tically instantly -with the new arrangement the dies ycan vbe brought togetheramore rapidly and their movement is not braked by any trapped air, and the human element is removed entirely.

It will be seen that the new hat saddle of this invention is very effective and simple in operation for relieving the harmful air cushion which is formed in the hat pressing operation, and that the device is reliable and entirely fool-proof.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described herein it is to be understood that it is not limited thereby but is susceptible of changes in form and detail within its scope.

I claim:

l. In a hat forming device, the combination of a hat saddle, and a ridged element secured to the inner surface of the saddle and extending substantially from the crown to the brim thereof for co-operating with a die introduced within the saddle to form air-relief passages leading therefrom.

2. In a hat forming device, the combination of a hat saddle, and a strip of material secured to the inner surface of the saddle and having passages leading substantially from the crown of the saddle to the brim thereof.

3. In a hat forming device, the combination of a hat saddle, and an element having a plurality of ridges mounted on the inner surface of the saddle with its ridges extending substantially from the crown thereof and cooperating with a die introduced therein to provide air relief passages.

4. In a hat forming device, the combination of a hat saddle having an inner surface of fabric and a strip of vulcanized rubber secured to the inner fabric surface thereof by means of a layer of substantially unvulcanized rubber, said unvulcanized strip being subsequently vulcanized to secure the vulcanized rubber strip to the fabric inner surface of the hat saddle.

5. In a hat forming device, the combination of a hat saddle, and means in the inner surface of the saddle having surface projections forming, with a pressing member placed therein, a plurality of air-conducting passages of substantial cross-sectional area leading from the interior of the saddle substantially to the brim thereof.

6. In a hat forming device, the combination of a hat saddle, a strip of material therein extending substantially from the crown to the brim thereof, and spaced elevations on the surface of the strip adapted to form, with a pressing member placed in the saddle, a plurality of air relief passages of substantial cross-sectional area leading from within the saddle substantially to the brim thereof.

7. In a hat forming device, the combination of a hat saddle, and a grooved strip secured to the inner surface of the saddle and forming with a die placed therein an air passage leading substantially from the crown to the brim of the saddle.

8. In a hat forming device, the combination of a hat saddle, and a strip secured to the inner surface of the saddle and having depressions on the surface thereof which form with a pressing member placed in the saddle a plurality of air relief passages leading substantially from Ythe crown of the saddle to the brim thereof.

9. In a hat forming device, the combination of a hat saddle, and a strip of yieldable material secured therein, said strip having a plurality of grooves leading substantially from the crown of the saddle to the brim thereof and forming with a pressing member placed therein a plurality of air relief passages.

l0. In a hat forming machine, the combination of a hat saddle, and a soft rubber strip having an irregular outer surface secured to the inner sur- 11 face of said saddle and extending substantially from the crown to the brim thereof, said irregular surface forming with a pressing member placed in the saddle a plurality of connected air relief passages leading substantially from the crown to the brim of the saddle.

FRANK PERTOT. 

